Salt in the Wound
by gypsywriter135
Summary: Even after all these years, he still can't get over it. Rated for swearing and mild Germancest, as well as other themes.


Told ya' there'd be more XD

This one's a little more dark. I went back and forth with myself about whether or not to include this with my collection of German Bros. stories, but decided to let it stand alone; that was my intention to begin with, so I'm gonna stick with my original idea.

Have fun!

**Disclaimer: "Hetalia" isn't mine. I just like to twist their emotions.**

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><p>Ludwig's brow furrowed in irritation as he straightened his tie in the mirror. In the doorway, Gilbert was still in his boxers, his pajamas of Ludwig's choice – if it were up to the Prussian, every night would be "nakey night" – and was rambling about the superiority of pancakes. Ludwig didn't have time to listen to his brother's random monologues; he was going to be late to the world meeting if he didn't stick to the strict morning schedule he had planned for today. Trust Gilbert to mess that up.<p>

"- the blueberries just get all mushy and then they're not good anymore. Now, the chocolate chips- those are good. Especially when the chocolate melts and makes the pancakes all chocolately too… but you have to have the right number of chips in it. I think that between… oh, fifty and seventy…. But that's depending on the size of the pancake-"

"Bruder," the tall blonde sighed, interrupting the long rant. Gilbert blinked at him. "I need to get ready for the world meeting today."

"So?"

Ludwig sighed again. "Could you please allow me to finish getting ready? I'm going to be late."

The older man scoffed. "I fail to see the problem. Those meetings are so boring anyways. I remember when I was-"

"As boring as they may be," Ludwig interrupted loudly to be heard over the other's voice, "I still have to go. I already made you pancakes for this morning, and there's wurst in the fridge for lunch. Hopefully I'll be home for dinner, but if not, there's some things in the pantry that you can cook." He reached up into the bathroom cupboard next to the sink and grabbed his bottle of hair gel, squirting some into his hand.

Gilbert scowled. "I don't cook."

"Well, you're going to have to cook today," Ludwig told him, rubbing his hands together before using the gel to slick back his hair. He carefully tucked away any loose strands. "It's only for one night. I'm sure you'll manage."

Gilbert was silent for a moment, in which Ludwig smiled to himself. He saw his brother push off of the door jam and turn back into their room, disappearing around the corner. The younger blonde took advantage of his lack of presence and quickly finished getting ready. He grabbed his keys off of his dresser and his suit coat off the bed before making his way downstairs.

"Bruder!" He called, slipping his shoes on and leaning down to tie them. "I'm leaving!"

There was a small crash from the other bathroom upstairs and Ludwig cringed; he'd be cleaning that up later. Suddenly, his older brother quickly descended the steps, clad in a pair of dress slacks and a blouse, slipping on a jacket and tie hanging loosely around his neck, completely undone. His hair was damp from the shower he must have quickly took, and looked even more messy than before. Ludwig gaped.

"Uh… what're you doing?"

Gilbert grinned as he came to the bottom of the stairs, shirt un-tucked. "I figured that this boring meeting would be less boring if I came and offered my awesome presence to the world."

Ludwig groaned. "Bruder… there's no need for you to be there…."

Gilbert laughed and walked over to the closet, taking out his dress shoes and sliding them on. He turned back to his brother. "Sure there is! I'm part of Germany now, aren't I?"

Ludwig rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… yes, but _technically_ you're not a country anymore, so-"

Gilbert pointed a finger at him, frowning. "Hey! I'm still here, remember?"

The tall blonde sighed. "Ja, bruder, but-"

"I'm going." Gilbert said forcefully, and snatched the keys out of the other's hand before walking out the door.

It was going to be a long day.

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The drive to the meeting was horrendous; Gilbert's driving on a good was bad enough, but add in rush hour on a Monday morning, and the Prussian was a madman. After nearly having three heart attacks, almost hitting four people, and countless middle fingers later, Gilbert finally, blessedly, pulled into a parking spot at the building. Ludwig shakily got out of the car and rounded the front, smoothing the front of his suit and glaring at a smirking brother.

"Aw, don't look at me like that, West," Gilbert said. He tossed the keys to Ludwig, who caught them, much to his surprise. "You can drive home."

Ludwig continued to glare as Gilbert walked passed him, when he suddenly reached out and grabbed the smaller man's upper arm. Gilbert squacked in surprised as he was yanked backwards.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked as Ludwig began to tuck in the other's shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles and straightening the tie.

"If you're going to be representing my country, then at least look presentable," Ludwig sighed.

"You mean '_our_ country,' right?"

"No," Ludwig corrected, trying to attain some semblance of control over the unruly white locks. "_My_ country. I am Germany. You are Prussia. Prussia no longer exists. When the wall was erected, you became East Germany, and technically, we were two different countries. But now that the wall is down, there is only one Germany, me, so you-"

"I don't need a fucking history lesson, _Germany_," Gilbert growled and smacked the tidying hands away. He looked up at his brother. "I was there, I remember."

"Sometimes I think you have selective memory…" Ludwig muttered. His brother glared at him.

"I'm sorry," Gilbert said, voice dripping with venom, "but whose fault was it that I got dissolved?"

Ludwig looked at him, eyes narrowed. "You're not implying that it was me, are you, _bruder_?"

"Oh, sorry. Must be that _other_ bruder of mine that slaughtered millions of people and caused World War Two. My mistake. Must be my '_selective memory_' coming into play."

Gilbert's voice was dripping with sarcasm, and air quotations were used around "selective memory."

Now it was Ludwig's time to glare. "That's not fair. I've apologized for that countless times, but you were the one who followed me. You could have said no."

"I followed you because you asked me too!" Gilbert snarled, getting right into his brother's face, noses touching.

"And you still could have said no!" Ludwig yelled, eyes blazing.

The two brothers continued to stand there, glaring into each other's eyes, before Gilbert huffed and turned on his heel, making his way into the building. Ludwig glared at his back for a moment before looking at his watch, growling curses when he noticed how late he was, and hurried into the conference building.

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Gilbert grumbled as he pushed his chair back from the table and stood. From the corner of his eye, he saw his brother glare at him as their boss – sorry, _Ludwig's_ boss – came over to talk to the tall blonde, probably about Gilbert's "unruly behavior."

So? It wasn't his fault that these meetings were so boring. He'd only tried to liven up the place a little. Though, he admitted to himself, maybe trying to grope Roderich had been a bit risky… his head was still sore from where Elizabeta's frying pan had hit it.

But the drawings he and Francis had passed back and forth, displaying _hilarious_ depictions of the other nations, and the spit ball contest he and Mathias had had certainly made things more interesting. Fuck what his brother or his boss thought of him; he certainly didn't care.

As he thought about all this, an uncomfortable feeling made itself known in his lower regions, and he quickly headed towards the restroom. He entered a stall and did his business, hearing the door open and close as he flushed and went to the sink to wash his hands. Another toilet flushed and out came Ivan. Gilbert scowled in the mirror at the taller man.

"Hello, Gilbert," the tall Russian grinned.

"Fuck off," the albino retorted, flicking the excess water off his hands and grabbing an handful of paper towels.

"My, that's not very nice," Ivan hummed, moving to the sink, putting his hands under it.

"I don't really give a fuck," was Gilbert's reply, tossing the used towels in the garbage can.

"Ah, but your brother does," Ivan sneered, shutting the water off and drying his hands. Gilbert froze, his back to the Russian.

"What my brother thinks is none of your concern," he said coldly. "And what I say or do is none of your business. Not anymore."

Ivan chuckled, and Gilbert felt a cold shiver race down his spine. "Ah, but it is your brother's business. And it seems like he does not appreciate what happened during the meeting today."

"Shut up," Gilbert muttered, turning around to face to the other man. "I thought I told you not to stick your huge nose where it doesn't belong."

"We could go around in circles like this all day," Ivan laughed. He advanced towards the smaller man. "But I fear that won't be productive."

Gilbert took an involuntary step backwards. Ivan didn't seem to notice and continued forward. "Get away from me, you fucking psycho."

Ivan's creepy smile increased. "That's not very nice either, Gilbert. Maybe I should teach you not to call people names." He leapt forward and grabbed the albino, spinning him around and pinning him with his back to wall. He put one hand over Gilbert's mouth, pinning him up to the wall with his arm. The other hand held his pipe, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He leaned up close to Gilbert's ear, smirking.

"What happened to all those manners I taught you?" he whispered. "Am I going to have to punish you for being mean again?"

Gilbert's red eyes went wide, and he tried to kick out at the other man, attempting to get his arms loose from the iron grip around him. Ivan increased the pressure, putting a leg up and placing a knee dangerously close to the gap in Gilbert's legs. Ivan simply tisked.

"Now, now," he purred, leaning in close again. "You've been so bad today. Your brother simply won't want you around after that little argument in the parking lot this morning."

Gilbert's breath came out in harsh sounds through his nose, and he swallowed thickly behind the large hand.

"Little East," Ivan tutted. "Where will you go? You have no home, and no one will want to put up an ex-nation who has nothing to offer." His knee practically grinded against the albino's groin. "The only place you can go is with me."

The silver-haired man was trembling. He swallowed thickly again and his eyes widened even further when Ivan leaned in and said, "I can take all those rude things that you've learned and make them nice again… Little East…"

"Hey!"

Ivan whipped his head around to look behind him and Gilbert's eyes flicked to the bathroom door. Ludwig was standing in the doorway, eyes dark and angry. Behind him, Gilbert could see several other nations, the only recognizable ones being Elizabeta and Toris.

The pressure against Gilbert suddenly vanished, and he dropped to the floor, gasping for breath.

"What's going on here?" came Ludwig's icy voice. Gilbert clutched at his chest, where he could feel his heart beating so fast, he thought it might burst.

"Nothing at all," Ivan said sweetly, already moving towards the door. "At least," he said as he passed the blonde nation, "nothing that concerns you. Little East and I were simply having… a chat…"

And with a swish of his scarf, the Russian was gone, disappearing down the hallway and out the front door.

Gilbert heard footsteps hurrying towards him and gentle hands guiding him to sit with his back against the wall. He leaned his head back and felt the cool tile on his hot skin, closing his eyes, still trying to catch his breath.

"Bruder?" he heard after several long moments.

The Prussian cracked open an eye to look up at the blonde. Ludwig's face was inches from his own, and his forehead was creased with worry.

"Heh… fatass really knows how to make a scene, huh?" he chuckled, but there was no mirth in his voice. Ludwig's worry increased.

"You okay?" he asked, moving a hand to Gilbert's shoulder.

Gilbert tensed, but nodded. "Never better," he muttered.

The look Ludwig gave him told him that the blonde didn't believe a word of it. "What happened?" he asked instead.

"Nothing," Gilbert told him, making to stand up. Ludwig looked like he was going to protest, but one glance from his brother had him shutting his mouth. Instead, he stood up as well, watching as the older man made his way to the sink and turned it on, splashing water on his face. He wiped it with his sleeve and then turned around. "How'd you know I was here?"

Ludwig continued to eye Gilbert. "Toris came running into the meeting room, yelling about it. Guess he walked in and saw what was happening and freaked out…"

The other nodded. "Mhmm…"

The two brothers were silent, one gazing blankly into the mirror, the other watching him worriedly.

"Look, bruder, I-"

"Nothing happened!" Gilbert snapped, turning around and glaring at the German.

"Come on, Gil!" Ludwig cried. "We all saw it! That wasn't just a friendly conversation!"

"What goes on between me and other nations is between me and them!" Gilbert replied. "You are not in that equation. But you have the keys to the car, and right now, I'd like to go home." The albino glared at his brother and walked out the bathroom, ignoring the gazes of the other nations on the other side as he made his way to the parking lot.

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The drive home was quiet; not that Ludwig was complaining. It was nice to drive in silence for a change; Ludwig just wished that the silence wasn't as heavy.

The entire ride home, Gilbert sat in the passenger seat, gazing out the window. Every once in a while, he would mutter something unintelligent. Every time the younger blonde tried to make conversation, Gilbert would simply glare and tell him to drop it.

It was a long ride home…

The silence was vaguely reminiscence of when Gilbert had returned home from his time behind the wall all those years ago. He had been severely malnourished and his eyes had been haunted, bruises marring almost every inch of his skin. Nightmares used to wake him up nearly every night to the point where he became practically a zombie in the daytime. He had rarely spoken to any one, and it had taken almost a year for the jitters to go away.

But even though Gilbert was now basically the same man he had been years ago, he still had some problems; nightmares weren't as common as they had been before, but they still happened. He also tended to stay far away from Ivan, or anything that happened to be Russian.

It had taken a lot of patience and coaxing to get Gilbert to tell him what had happened to him behind the wall. When he had finally gotten the older man to tell him, Ludwig had been livid; the horrors his brother had experienced at the hands of the Soviet nation were too terrible to recount; no wonder his brother had dry heaved through nearly the entire story.

And now, after all that work, one careless action on Ludwig's part was going to ruin all of it.

He had been extremely annoyed and angry at Gilbert's behavior through the entire meeting, and coupled with the argument the two had had before hand only made things worse. So when Gilbert had disappeared to the bathroom while his boss reamed out the blonde, he thought nothing of it when Ivan had followed a few seconds behind.

It was only when a panicked Toris had run into the meeting room and exclaimed that Ivan had cornered Gilbert in the bathroom that Ludwig had forgotten about everything and rushed down the hall. His brother was in trouble, and nothing would stand in his way.

As he had thrown open the door to see the smaller pinned up against the wall by Ivan, Ludwig had seen the terror in those red eyes, and image that would haunt him for a long time.

He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye. Gilbert was slumped in his seat, elbow leaning against the door and chin propped in his hand. His eyes were narrowed as he watched the scenery fly by. When Ludwig turned into their driveway and put the car in park, Gilbert made no move to get out.

"Bruder?" he called softly.

Gilbert jumped slightly and blinked, recognition dawning on his face.

"About fucking time," he muttered and unbuckled himself, opening the door and heading to the front porch, leaving Ludwig sitting in the car.

The tall German sighed and shut the car off, following his brother and entering the house. The dogs immediately greeted him at the front door, and he smiled as he patted each of their heads, loosening his tie as he followed the sounds of pans clanging in the kitchen. Gilbert was rummaging around in one of the cabinets, jacket and tie discarded on a kitchen chair.

"Why the fuck do we have no alcohol in this fucking house?" he growled, standing on his tip toes to reach the back where Ludwig kept his quality beer. When his hand came away empty, he turned around and glared at his brother.

Ludwig sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I haven't had the chance to go to the store since your last drunken escapade," he said.

Gilbert slammed his hand down on the counter, making Ludwig jump and the dogs whimper, slinking away into the other room. "What the fuck am I supposed to do then, West?" he yelled, eyes blazing.

"You can go one night without beer," Ludwig said softly, gazing at Gilbert for a long while. "One night won't kill you."

"Maybe not one night, but this night will!" Gilbert cried, and something crossed his face that Ludwig had trouble recognizing.

"Bruder… what are you talking about…?" Ludwig was officially confused. Sure, Gilbert liked to drown his troubles in alcohol, but he had never behaved this way before.

Ludwig barely had time to duck before the glass that Gilbert had on the counter slammed into the wall right where his blonde head had been seconds before. Ludwig blinked at the broken pieces of glass as another came shooting for him. He dodged to the side and looked up, seeing Gilbert reel his arm back to throw another glass at him.

"Bruder, what are you doing?" he shouted, moving to the side as a crash resounded through the kitchen.

Gilbert's reply was a strangled scream as he hurled a fourth and fifth glass before Ludwig's reflexes kicked in and he moved forward, wrestling the glass from his brother's grip. The older man let out a pained sound as the tall blonde pried his fingers away and held his wrists in one, large hand.

"Bruder, stop!" Ludwig snapped. "What the hell are you thinking?"

Gilbert glared and tried to kick him to get free. Ludwig struggled to keep his hold. "Gilbert, stop!" he cried. "It's me! It's Ludwig!"

The other man suddenly stopped struggling and he looked up at his brother, red eyes wide and slightly glazed over. "West…?"

"Ja, bruder…"

Gilbert's eyes unclouded and he really looked at Ludwig. He looked around the kitchen, taking in the shattered glass on the floor and he whipped his head back to his brother. Ludwig slowly let go of his grip on his arms, which dropped down to his sides.

Ludwig watched as a plethora of emotions crossed the albino's face before Gilbert reached up and covered his eyes with a hand. He chuckled darkly.

"Bruder…?" Ludwig asked skeptically.

"It's been over twenty fucking years," Gilbert said from behind his hand. "Twenty years, and five minutes alone with the fucking guy brings it all back…"

Realization dawned on Ludwig, and he gently reached forward, bringing his arms around the smaller man and drawing him to his chest. He could feel Gilbert shaking as his dress shirt was quickly soaked with hot tears.

In all of the years that Ludwig had known his older brother, he could count on one hand the number of times Gilbert had cried. The first was the death of his beloved king, Old Fritz. The second was when he was officially dissolved as a nation, and the third was when he had been reunited after the Berlin Wall had been torn down. And every time it happened, Ludwig felt a little piece of his heart break.

Gilbert's shoulders shook with silent sobs as the pale man clutched the front of Ludwig's shirt while Ludwig rubbed a soothing hand through the silver locks. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of Gilbert's head.

"Gott, I thought he was gonna kill me…." Gilbert's muffled voice said a while after the sobs stopped and all that remained was the occasional shiver. Ludwig looked down at him and Gilbert pulled away, rubbing the remaining tears from his eyes. "I mean… really kill me…."

"No, bruder," Ludwig told him, taking Gilbert's chin between his thumb and index finger and making the shorter man look him in the eyes. "I would never let that happen."

Gilbert's red eyes gazed at him before closing and he suddenly slumped forward, leaning his forehead against Ludwig's chest. "I was scared…" he whispered so softly that Ludwig almost didn't hear him.

Ludwig brought his arms up to wrap around his brother once more as Gilbert's trembling began anew. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he murmured softly.

Neither said anything. Ludwig was thinking hard; Gilbert had to be truly frightened to admit to _anyone_ that he was afraid of something. He shouldn't have let that stupid argument they'd had that morning make him forget his head. He should have known that as soon Ivan had followed his brother out of that meeting room that something was amiss. If he had been paying attention, this entire fiasco could have been avoided.

"I'm sorry," Gilbert sniffed. "I shouldn't have thrown those glasses. I just… I'm not sure what to do… I don't know how to unsee these things…"

Ludwig sighed, making Gilbert's hair sway gently. "Nein, bruder. I am sorry… I could have prevented this… all of it…"

"I don't blame you, West," Gilbert said softly, looking up at his brother, eyes swimming.

Ludwig placed a chaste kiss on the albino's forehead. "I know… but maybe, you should."

Gilbert opened his mouth to protest when it was captured by Ludwig's own soft lips, effectively cutting him off. "Then at least let me shoulder some of this burden you carry around," he murmured into the kiss even as Gilbert's eyes closed. "You're not alone, Gilbert. I'll protect you… You don't have to be afraid; not ever again."

Gilbert kissed the tall blonde back, and as the last of his tears escaped his tightly shut eyes, he knew in his heart that everything would be okay, because Ludwig never broke his promises.

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><p>Lot's of Germancest lately... I have a problem, apparently. Oh well.<p>

I originally wrote this just so that I could write that little scene with Gil and Ivan in the bathroom, but thought I'd add a little more background to it. Not too happy with how that came out, but that scene I thought came out splendidly.

Poor, Gil. He just doesn't get a break today, does he?

Reviews appreciated! Flames will be dumbed in the fireplace.


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